Friday, April 25, 2014

Hello! Guess what? I won a spot in the Online Watercoloring Class! Thank you, Jean Manis! I greatly appreciate it! The pre-class gallery has begun, and we have our first assignment to create charts and plaids, so here you go.

I created a couple of Watercolor Charts and made an attempt at a plaid design using my Gelatos. Kristina Werner showed us how to free-hand all this, and I tried to follow it, but I have a shaky hand, as you can see.

The two charts compare simple watercolor pencils with the more expensive Inktense pencils. The Gelatos (in the plaid design) are brand new, and this is the first time I really played with them. Very interesting medium, I must admit. When you first scribble them onto the craft mat, it's like a crayon, but as soon as you add a spritz of water, it turns into a nice watercolor. I was surprised the blue wasn't any sharper in color, but I think it still shows enough color for this. The red is a bit overpowering, but that's what reds do--they overpower!

The class doesn't start for more than a week, but you might see some more watercolor drafts in the meantime if I choose to put them in the Gallery. This is a first for me, btw...I've never had a watercolor class before, and I'm not one to draw independently. Now it's time for me to get some real watercolor paints, so beware! Who knows what I'll create once I start playing in those!

As always, I appreciate your visits and comments very much. This isn't much of a card to comment on, but I'd still love to hear from you. Take it easy!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Hello! I sure hope you are having a good day. The weather is beautiful outside here in North Carolina, so I'm going to go out and enjoy it soon.

The Easter holiday made me think about jellybeans and this jar stamp from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. I pulled out my scrap pieces of paper and began die cutting jellybeans in all different colors. Then I put adhesive across the jar I had stamped and die cut and began adding jellybeans. They added up quickly, and before I knew it I was finished...or I thought I was finished. I didn't think it looked like a real jar, so I added a coat of Glossy Accents. Once it was dry I thought it looked more realistic.

The background paper I used is from October Afternoon's The Thrift Shop, and I just love it! The jar lid paper is from that Classic Calico paper pad I enjoy using so often, and I layered that on top of half a doily. I wrapped the top of the jar with a piece of Baker's Twine and added For You on the label of the jar. That finished it up.

This has to be one of my favorite cards. The Glossy Accents added a lot, and I like the Baker's Twine around the top. What do you think -- what's your favorite part of the card?

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again soon!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Hello! Happy Saturday to everyone! It's raining again today, but tomorrow will be a better day! Where have we heard that before? lol

I like this card a lot, but I wish the sign said Happy Easter. I just didn't have a stamp that would fit into that little space. Eggs 4 Sale works well, too, I guess.

The stamps used for this project are from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life (SOL). Love her stamps, dies and inks! Most of them are fun, like the PB&J one I used for a previous card. The intricate white design on the side is from a punch I bought from Stampin Up! The flower and brad were in my stash.

Believe it or not, this card took a while to create. The background was sponged with SOL Sky ink, and the bunny was colored with Copic Markers. It took me a couple of tries to get the grey just right so the bunny would look mostly white. That's kind of hard to do, but I got plenty of practice!

I am going to try to make one more Easter card, but if I don't, I wish Happy Easter Blessings to each and every one of you. You are truly a blessing to me--you bring me great joy and happiness with your visits and comments. I truly appreciate everything you have to say on here, and I learn something new with each comment. Thank you, and Happy Easter!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Hello! Hope you are having a wonderful day! I thought it was about time I get an Easter card on here, especially since Easter is THIS Sunday! Yikes! At least I got the Easter cards out to my family on time. They should be a bit surprised about that! Mom's usually late on these things...

This card started with a piece of patterned paper from my stash--I have NO idea where it came from, it just showed up on the exact day I needed it. (Don't you love it when that happens?) I used some Distress Inks to sponge on the eggs, which are die cut from a set I received from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. The Happy Easter I stamped on vellum came another set from her. That's it!

I hope you have a wonderful Easter holiday. Don't eat too much candy, and be good to that Easter Bunny!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Here's another card I've created using a sentiment from Gina K Designs Stamp TV kit. Can you tell I love it? This time, I added a leaf design I created using a leaf stencil and embossing paste. What fun! That stuff is addictive. I could do that all day long! The butterfly is from a Spellbinder's die.

I hope you're having a good week so far. Thank you for your visits and comments. I enjoy having you and reading what you have to say. Stay positive and have a good day!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Hello! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! The weather has been so nice here in NC you can't help but be in a good mood.

I watched a video at Gina K Designs' Stamp TV and decided to follow along. I just got some new GKD inks in Turquoise Sea and Kraft and I just love them! You can tell how good they show up by looking at this card. I also used some of the new Vintage Cuts which are cut-outs that you stamp the image on, such as the leaves, flowers and butterfly you see here. The trim is another Vintage Cut. I created my own background by stamping the flowers, leaves and circular design on white cardstock. I added a brad in the center of the flower.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments very much, so keep on coming back! I'll have another post again soon.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Hi there! Hope you are having a happy Saturday! Weather is beautiful here today, and I am about to go to a scrapbooking CROP for the first time in several years...woohoo! I can't wait.

The card I am posting is for the challenge at Gina K Designs that they are calling "Stamping Trifecta." You have to have three of something on your card. I stamped three of the same flower that's on the homemade background. I just love those leaves! The stamps are from the Stamp TV kit and the ribbon is also. I traced the flowers with my glitter pen, although you can't tell that from the picture. Oh, well!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much and hope to see you again soon! Take it easy,

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hello! Hope your Thursday is coming along just fine and you are well and happy today. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. What a beautiful day!

Gina provided a video at Gina K Designs that gave instructions for creating this card, and I just HAD to try it. I heat embossed the flower and leave images in white onto Kraft cardstock. Then I filled in the spaces with a Stampin Up marker. Doesn't it look neat? I also embossed the sentiment and made this a Birthday card.

Although this card was fairly easy to create, it did take some patience to fill in the blanks. Those were tiny little slits and my eyes were getting watery half-way through the second flower! I think the result was worth the challenge, though. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your visits and comments very much. Take it easy and I'll see you tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Hello! Happy Wednesday! Can you believe we're half way through the week already? WooHoo!

I had a lot of fun creating this card today. The stamps are included in this month's Club Set from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. As a member of her die club, I receive one stamp set with a matching die set each month for a very low price. It's a great deal, and most of her stamps with the dies are boat loads of fun. She also has releases other days throughout the month, but this one comes out the first day.

For this card, I used Studio Calico's Classic Calico paper that I received from my son last Christmas, which I absolutely LOVE. That piece was layered with a polka dot paper from ep This & That. You can never go wrong with polka dots! I stamped and die cut the images for the card, then layered a couple extra across the bottom. Everything was colored with Copic markers.

I appreciate your visits and comments very, very much! Please keep on coming back and let me know you were here! It's always fun to learn what stands out to different viewers. Love that! Have a good day!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Hello! How's your day going? The sun finally came out and temperature has stayed nice and warm, so I'm a happy gal.

This card is CASEd from Sean Fedderman. I've CASEd several of his cards lately. This Stamp TV kit is awesome! I used the flowers from Warm Spring Wishes and the sentiment from Spring Blessings. The flowers and leaves were stamped and then cut out before placing them onto the layered panel that had been embossed.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Today's card is another CASE from Sean Fedderman, a Moderator at Gina K Designs. He's incredibly talented, and this is the third card I've copied from him. Such inspiration!

I used stamps from the Stamp TV Shabby Spring kit again, which I absolutely love. There are so many stamps that are big in size! Anyway, for this card, I stamped the flowers in different colors then stamped again on a different piece of cardstock, cut them out, and then placed over top of the stamped images on the card with a pop dot. I centered each with a small, colorful gem. The butterfly is a piece of Vintage Cuts that I colored with Copic markers and then outlined with my Sakura glitter pen.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Hello! Hope your day is going well! Can't believe the weekend is here again already!

Want to shout out a big birthday hello to my son, Coleman H. Richardson, who is turning 28 today! He called me early this morning to wish me a Happy Labor Day...how cool is that?

The sentiment on this card reminds me of him, because he has tremendous talent in the arts and is working hard to begin a career in that area while living close to Los Angeles. He's well on his way, too! WooHoo! How exciting!

I created this card while following a video on Gina K Designs' Stamp TV. I switched around the direction of the oval and changed colors a bit, but other than that, it's very close to Gina's card. I used the new Stamp TV Shabby Spring kit with the stamp set called Spring Blessings. It included a Vintage Cut of the sideways butterfly, which I stamped on and then watercolored. The ribbon across the bottom is from the kit as well.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Hello! I am trying out some baby cards this week. My son's girlfriend has asked me to create some baby cards for a friend of hers who is pregnant. This is early in the pregnancy and they don't know if it's a boy or girl, so I went with yellow. It was fun to dig out my box of baby stickers, paper, etc.!

The front of the card is a digi image from Doodle Pantry. The die for the flip-it card is from Sizzix at Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. The stickers, words, etc. are from my stash.

Hope you've enjoyed today's card! I enjoy your visits and comments very much, so please leave a word or two and come back soon!